The Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation held its annual fundraiser, Equinox, at Cibo Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Board President Kendra Cea said Roosevelt Row CDC is hoping to raise $10,000 from the event through ticket and raffle sales. The board raised $4,500 from tickets purchased online before the day of the event, she said.
“We like promoting downtown venues, and Cibo has been supporting the downtown area for quite a while now,” Cea said. “Frankly, it is the perfect patio.”
Cindy Dach, who cofounded Roosevelt Row CDC with her husband Greg Esser, first held the annual fundraiser in her refurbished home four years ago.
“At the time, Greg and I had been renovating a house from 1909, and we slightly used the situation of people not having seen it,” she said. “When you throw a party for the first time, you don’t know if anyone is going to come. Even for the fourth time, you don’t know if anyone is going to come, even when they buy tickets.”
The funds raised will go toward Roosevelt Row programs such as Growhouse, the Roosevelt Row Merchant Association and A.R.T.S., a program that reuses vacant lots, Cea said.
Dale Erquiaga, who used to be the CDC director for the organization, volunteered at the fundraiser. He said the event has pulled 100 to 200 participants since it began.
“I was at this event when it started. It started as a simple house party, and tonight we have packed the patio at Cibo, so it is a real sign of how far the organization has come,” he said.
Tickets sold for $35. VIP tickets were $100, which included a VIP ticket for Feast on the Street. Raffle tickets were available to purchase, one for $10 and three for $20.
The raffle at the event included gift certificates from downtown restaurants, a Phoenix Fire Department ride-along and APS-donated Arizona Diamondback tickets. Cea said local artists also contributed to the raffle with their art.
Board Vice President Kim Larkin said she was thankful for the many community volunteers who helped out with the event. There were more than 40 volunteers at Equinox, and Cox Communications sponsored the event.
“The board and volunteers once again put together a great event to show what community feels like, and that is why people are drawn to the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation,” Erquiaga said. “It feels like a community neighborhood block party.”
This is the second year that Brendan McCaskey has volunteered for Roosevelt Row CDC. He is the manager of Smeeks, and his button company, Jar of Buttons, sells at GrowOp, Smeeks and Frances. He made buttons of all the neighborhood murals to give out to raffle ticket holders, and made peanut-butter-and-jelly cupcakes for the event.
“It has been kind of a regular thing,”he said of the cupcakes. “It’s vanilla cake with boysenberry jam with peanut butter frosting.”
Dach said she enjoys the success that the organization has seen in the past four years. It is full of opinionated people who have a voice in their community, she said.
“One of the reasons why this party is successful is because the people that are here, this is what they have been working for,” she said. “They want the urban community landscape and vitality, so this party is just a steppingstone for that.”
Contact the reporter at aimackli@asu.edu
